Tough Time
by RuningWitSizorz
Summary: Ares, a Bellossom with strength only matched by his anger, Ishmael, a mute Sableye that's smarter than most think, and Marcus, a Munchlax that's a certifiable psychopath. Their lives are intertwined, as is their stories, and no matter how different they are, they stick together. Many question if that's a good thing.


Beautiful, one word that could describe the bright sunny day would be beautiful, just beautiful. Beautifly happily fluttered about in the air, pollinating flowers as they went, and the young Starly chirped in a similarly good natured manner as a few lazy clouds drifted by the big blue sky… It was a little warm, but a gently cool breeze came through every so often and was welcomed to rush against someone and cool them down…

While this was a wonderful day, perfect to be lazy as can be or to do whatever it was that needed to be done, with in the large and old forest of Eterna, where time seemed to stand still, a soft sobbing noise could be heard. Underneath the always present shade of the tree cluttered forest, laid a small, brown, foxlike creature with a tan tuft of fur around its neck. This little creature known as an Eevee had tears streaming down her face and was obviously the source of the sobbing.

All alone, no one had bothered to pay her attention as she cried and she cried… But she did manage to grab the attention of one person.

A bi-pedal, blue furred, Riolu's black ears perked up and he quickly headed over to the source of the crying. His fur made it seem like he wore a black mask around his eyes, and the red eyes in the middle of all that black fur showed immense concern… He was young, and had no idea what an Eevee was, but nevertheless… He shook her gently, trying to grab the crying Normal type's attention. "Hey, a-are you alright mam?"

She looked up at him, tears still striding down her face as she tried to choke out a sentence and shake her head 'no'. "M-My….. My family's… My family's…. T-T-T-They're all…." Not able to finish what she said, she let out a loud cry and put her head against the Riolu's chest and continued to sob uncontrollably.

The Riolu looked side to side before gently smiling, being too young to understand the implications that having a female atop of you brought… But still being a bit flustered at the physical contact, he slowly raised a paw up and pet the top of her head, trying to stop the flow of tears as he spoke in what he assumed was a soothing voice. "Hey, it's alright… Just calm down and tell me what happened…."

More tears flowed still, but her ears twitched at the sound of his voice and she calmed down a little as she registered his soothing voice and petting in her mind. The Riolu himself could notice that he was having an effect on her, as his species had the ability to sense auras, and while hers was a dark and gloomy color at the moment… It was most certainly lightening up quite a lot. After a few minutes of gently petting her head, she looked back up at him with red puffy eyes, a few stray tears running down her face as she finally managed a sentence. "My... My family's dead, a… A monster came by and he just laughed while he killed them…." Subconsciously, her paws tightened up and pulled on the Riolu's fur, but he only winced slightly as he listened intently to her story. "Mother… She… She told me to just run, and I ran as fast as I could for a long time and I just stopped right here!"

Composure was broken as her lower lip trembled and she buried her head once more against his chest and broke down crying again, the Riolu being silent as he slowly tried to comfort her by petting he head much like before. Minutes ticked by before she finally stopped again, and when she looked up at the Riolu, he gave a small understanding smile. "Hey, it's alright… What's your name?"

While she wasn't completely reassured and over the situation, she did feel much better than when she first started crying… "It's… It's Eve."

"Well, my name is Soul, nice to meet you Eve…." The Riolu still smiled to her, not noticing that he was gently rubbing behind her ear as he continued to stare into her sad hazel eyes and speak to her directly. "And I think I can help you…"

Her eyes widened as she opened her mouth a little in shock, now understanding what he meant by that. "How… How can you help?"

"I'll fight this 'monster', I'm really strong yah know." He ignored her dumbfounded look and just smiled, gently pushing her off and standing up, raw determination filling his eyes and voice as his fist clenched and he looked in the direction he assumed she had come from. "And if I can't, we'll get someone who can. This forest has a protector…"

"But, you can't do that! This monster was so strong, he… He… He killed my father in just a few moments... A-And… He al-"

Soul put a paw against her mouth and stopped her from continuing, bringing down his face to her level and looking at the Eevee with a dead serious look in his eye. "Don't worry, I've got this handled."

It was then that the two's eyes locked and something happened to them, hearts beating wildly as they noticed how close together their faces were to one another, a faint blush appeared on both of their faces and Soul pulled his face away from her as Eve similarly backed up a little. They didn't know what to do, having been both struck with pure love… They nervously fidgeted about a little, Eve forgetting about the entire world, including her dead family, as they both avoided one another's gaze…

Swallowing the lump that was in her throat, she looked back at him and smiled slightly. Soul was good looking, said he was powerful, and she had no reason to not trust him… "Alright….. If you think you can… I… I don't see why not…"

"I know I can." That reassuring statement made both of their smiles a lot more guanine and less forced, Soul was sure that whatever this 'monster' was, he could handle it…

Suddenly, the Riolu's felt another aura come closer, and he looked up to the tree tops to find the source of it… While simple flying types gave off a variety of auras, he had never seen one like the quickly approaching one he was seeing right now… It seemed to flash a wide rainbow of colors and was sometimes a dark color, sometimes a light one. It was odd, strange, and it put a frown on his face. Seeing him frown, Eve looked worriedly at him. "W-What's wrong?"

Soul didn't have time to answer, as the source of the many different auras suddenly dropped down towards them… But more specifically, the source of the many different auras suddenly dropped down on Eve. A startled gasp escaped her lungs as a large amount of pressure was applied to the back of her neck, and made her head and back go up, a sickening crack was heard as her spine snapped and the color began to drain from her once vibrant with life-and tears-eyes and face. One last look was sent Soul's way before she died on the spot, as the owner of the foot which had snapped her neck pushed off with enough force that sent them a few feet into the air and ended up landing some distance behind her body.

Not specifically tall or extraordinarily large, a Munchlax stood before him with a small grin, one of the two fangs that were supposed to hang out of his mouth apparently missing. While he looked normal in every different aspect, having blue and tan fur like any other of his species, excluding one. His _eyes_.

Hazel colored, there was something in them that showed a person of pure…. Something… That honestly scared Soul more than having Eve killed before his eyes… "Well! I call that a nine out of ten dismount, my Magikarp brother would be disappointed in your ability to not watch the tree grow in time for the ball! You disappoint me Clark…"

The Riolu blinked, looking around for a moment to see if the normal type was talking to him, or someone else… Finding no one, Soul disregarded what the Munchlax had said and snarled at him, shooting a glare his way and getting in a fighting stance. "My name's not Clark! And you just killed Eve you sicko!"

A hand was moved to cover his heart, the Munchlax putting on an odd smile that was sad and happy at the same time, only confusing the Riolu even more so. "Wait, you mean the thing I stepped on? Oh, she was running away from her destiny… See, she was supposed to be with her family that I just killed, but because I was busy killing them, I couldn't kill her because she saw that I was killing them and didn't want to be killed with them, so before I could kill her, she ran off while I was busy killing her family. It was pointless though because after I was done killing them, I came here and killed her so now I've killed them all for no particular reason."

While it took him a moment to understand exactly what he had said, the Riolu did figure it all out and the rage inside of him only increased. Not only did he kill someone who he had just met that he could've possibly loved a lot… But.. He also killed her whole family… FOR NO REASON! A harsh blue aura surrounded Soul as he stepped towards the Munchlax, shaking slightly as he tried to hold it all in… He knew that he would kill this monster, and he would make him pay for his crimes… "Tell me your name before I kill you."

"My name?" A loud laugh, one belonging to someone who was clearly not in his right mind, who was bent on destroying things and doing it for no rhyme or reason was heard coming from his throat as he too stepped forward. While anger and adrenaline flowed through the Riolu, it seemed to fade away as he saw the pokemon advance with a demented smile spread across his face, and a twitch in his eyes as he spoke in a hushed tone that Soul could barely hear. "My name is known across the land, I am known as the destroyer of teahouses, the bringer of cupcakes, the man who uses his foes intestines for yo-yo string! My name, my name is Marcus!"

Another laugh came from the Munchlax as he continued to talk, voice being raised as he waggled his finger and used Metronome**. "And you, you shall fear my laser face!"** Opening his mouth, thanks to Metronome which stimulated the brain and allowed the use of any move known, a bright light was seen to form… Once again, Soul was too late to react as a large white beam of pure energy flew straight for him. The Hyper Beam made contact and not even a scream was uttered as flesh was vaporized… The beam kept flying behind Soul, hitting trees and knocking them over before eventually dying out.

Marcus pouted; all that was left of Soul was two legs, perfectly detached from the now dead Riolu's remaining body parts. The beam was so hot and intense that there was no bloody mess, it was just two legs standing tall and proud… Before one of them fell down to the side, but overall it was disappointing that nothing else was left. "Awww…. Clark, why'd you have to get vaporized so eassssssily? I wanted more of your body to eat…."

He let out a sigh, moving over and kicking at Eve's lifeless body before licking his lips. "At least I have you, let's hope you have more meat on your bones then your brother, Miss Evening…"

* * *

"What does this have to do with what I want to know?"

"Oh! I got ahead of myself! Usually I'm too slow to not understand how hot the fire burns."

"You're too slow for anything you idiot!"

"..."

The room was dark, with a dim light hanging from the low ceiling above the old wooden table being the only source of illumination, but even then one could only barely make out the walls, it truly was a small room, but here four pokemon sat, all in chairs… One, a Lucario that sported a black and blue fedora, sat on one end of the table, while the other three, a Sableye, a Bellossom, and Marcus, sat on the other.

His red eyes watched them all intently, studying them as they grew silent. All of them were male, and gave off different aura's, Marcus' aura was constantly changing colors of course, and the Munchlax was currently standing up in his chair, spinning around and waving his arms like he was making a snow angel, for some reason the fedora wearing Fighting type couldn't fathom.

A subtle gaze to the one in the middle, the one with the most powerful voice, the Bellossom, almost made him shiver. Aura's were tied too many things, including feelings, and the one coming from the Grass type was a pure red. The red flickered off of him like flames and it was visible in his eyes, anger, rage, power, it was as if the Bellossom had nothing but these things, and from what he had seen and heard from him, the Lucario was willing to believe this. The frown on his face, the balled up fists, and the glare being sent to Marcus were all hostile signs, making the Fighting type make a mental note to tread carefully when speaking with the Grass type, and to not make a single comment about how he looked girly, he was told that it was difficult enough to subdue him into being in this room and answer questions, let alone get him into custody.

The last pokemon, also made the aura pokemon uneasy, but for different reasons. The Sableye stared directly at the Lucario, his blue gem eyes almost glowing in the dark room. The Ghost type sat upright, his hands clasped together and had yet to say a single word, or a make a single sound, he didn't flinch when the Bellossom raised his voice, nor did he give the Munchlax an odd look when he spoke his story. He barely even seemed to move, and it was creepy. What was even creepier though, was his aura, much like how the Grass type's was the purest red that the Lucario had seen, or how the Normal type's was anything but, the gem eyed pokemon's aura was also something the fedora wearing pokemon had yet to see having met the Sableye. It was small, even for a ghost, and was a navy blue color, a very odd combination for an aura indeed.

After clearing his throat, the Lucario kept his gaze on the Sableye, after once more giving the other two a look, feeling he would be the easiest to talk to. "Well, I feel like we've gotten to… Not the best start, I'm glad your friend began to talk, right after I asked my question, but… He didn't tell me what I wanted." After adjusting his hat slightly, the Lucario continued. "Now, you all know each other, correct? So, why don't you tell me how far back you all know each other? Tell me about yourself, not a random day in a forest.. Please."

"Buuuuut, it wasn't a random day!" The Munchlax piped up and started jumping on his chair, frowning. "It was important and you should let me continue because I-"

The Bellossom cut off Marcus's voice with his fist hitting the hard wood table, making a thud sound and a slight crackling noise. "SHUT THE DISTORTION WORLD UP YOU GOD DAMN MORON, YOUR CRAP STORY WAS CRAP JUST LIKE THE DIPSHIT WITH THE CRAP HAT OVER HERE!"

Once more a silence fell between the four of them, the remaining silent as the Bellossom glared at the now smiling Munchlax, at the ready to back away for the door, as the team meant to take care of the three in case of an fight, got ready to intervene… Thankfully nothing was done as the Munchlax sat back down onto his chair, muttering a sad sounding sorry, with that smile, and the Grass type turned his harsh gaze back to the 'crap hat wearing' Lucario, and crossed his arms, speaking back up. "Dipshit, are you new at this or just secretly a Slowpoke? Instead of asking for how long we've been chums, just ask about the damn fight that went on yesterday so we can be done here."

"I'd rather get you talking and more comfortable with it by telling me your connected past, mister..?"

"Ares, my bloody damn name, is Ares. Didn't they tell you this beforehand?"

"No, that's why I'm asking your names now… You may call me John. I know Marcus's name, but..." The red eyes slowly moved to meet the Sableye's blue gems, a forced smile coming to play on the Lucario's face as he talked. "What's yours?"

"His name is Ishmael, and he's not going to be saying a damn word any time soon."

John frowned, and looked back at Ares, fighting the urge to raise his voice and keeping it level when talking to the easily angered pokemon. "Oh? Why is that?"

"He's fucking mute; the only way you're getting any questions answered is by me or the moron on my left."

Marcus let out an audible murmur, his voice just barely heard by John. "I was once a Magikarp…"

The Lucario barely paid attention to what the Munchlax had said, and while his blue and black fur prevented it from being easily seen, his face paled as the Grass type's words sunk in. Why had no one told him these things? They just told him that Marcus was a little odd and that the Bellossom had some anger problems and that the Sableye was quiet, they hadn't told him specifics and that was probably how they managed to get him to take the job, had he known the specifics and how much of an understatement that those claims were, he would've passed up the job and let someone else take it, he should've followed his gut when he thought there was more to this than he was told, being alone in a room with just one of these people was bad enough, but three at once? He had to fight his nerves to be professional, he had to be professional, and he was going to demand a raise after this for sure… "Well," John tipped his hat towards Ishmael, and focused his eyesight upon the Bellossom, putting on a smile, hoping that things would be a bit easier than he assumed. "Would you care to start us off at the proper beginning then? How far back do you three go?"

"…" For a moment, it seemed like Ares wasn't going to say anything, just sit there with his arms crossed and his eyes locked on the Lucario's defying him of making things easy, but then he let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and began to talk. "Since we were children, these two haven't changed much in appearance 'cept get bigger, but I was an Oddish back then."

"You three really go that far back?"

"Yeah, Ishmael's always been mute, Marcus has always been weird, and I've always kicked ass."

"Mmm, could you tell me more? I was told you were all from… Johto?"

"Kanto, and what do you want to know?"

"Tell me just a memorable day in your childhood." John made a small nod with his head towards the Ares, glancing at the other two. "Perhaps when you all first met, or-"

"The day Hannah moved into town."

The name drew the attention of Marcus, whom jumped out of his seat, twisted his chair around so he was facing the Bellossom better, and sat back down and kicked his feet absent mindedly off of the chair edge with his eyes closed and a smile across his face. "I missssssss Hannah, she was the only one who knew I was talking to her when I said her name backwards…"

Having seen the name grab the attention of Marcus and Ishmael, the latter turning his head to look at Ares better, John raised a brow and crossed his legs, trying to get more comfortable in his chair as he prepared to listen to the story. "Sounds interesting, please, tell me about it."

Ares opened his eyes and tilted his chair back a bit, looking up at the ceiling as he began. "It was spring, no wait, fuck, it was summer, and it started out like any other day…"

* * *

**Please give me your opinions on this story, of course this is just the intro, but I ask for reviews as they make me feel good inside... And help me if I'm doing things right or if I'm failing. Thank you for getting to the end, either way though.**


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